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Chinese delegation studies 4-H, CSU Extension

Part of process to create US-style extension in China

Riley Meisner shares a photo album of his 4-H experiences with representatives of two Chinese universities. The delegation visited the Meisner farm on Friday as guests of the CSU Extension Service. (Jeff Rice / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

Faculty members and representatives from two Chinese agricultural universities visited Sterling on Friday to get some insight into the relationship between American land grant universities and the 4-H program.

The Chinese visitors first met with staffers from the Logan County CSU Extension Service in Sterling to learn more about how the university-based extension service works to put research information directly into the hands of producers. But the visitors were even more interested in how the extension service supports the 4-H program.

Riley Meisner shows a Chinese visitor what a show ring judge looks for in a lamb. The delegation from two Chinese agricultural universities visited the Meisner farm as guests of the CSU Extension Service (Jeff Rice / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

Dr. Lou Swanson, vice president for engagement at Colorado State University, said the visit is different from the visit last winter of a delegation from the Chinese Rural Development Institute, but with a similar goal. The most recent visitors were from Anhui Agricultural University in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, and Sichuan Agricultural University in Ya'an city, in Sichuan province.

Swanson said the tour of Colorado is part of China's attempt to build a university-based extension system similar to the one in the U.S. In that way, it is similar to the visit of Chinese dignitaries in December to familiarize with the university-based extension. The difference is that those were representatives of the Chinese Rural Development Institute, an approximate counterpart to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Last week's visitors were from two major universities and will be directly involved in creating a university-based extension service.

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"This (visit) is part of the Sino-U.S. Alliance on university-based agricultural extension," Swanson said. "The agricultural universities trained most of the Ministry of Agriculture's extension agents, and now the (Chinese) government is demanding that the universities and the ministry work together to create a university-based extension service."

Wilma Trujillo briefs Chinese university professionals on the scope of her work in Logan and Morgan Counties. (Jeff Rice / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

During an introductory session at CSU's Northeast Colorado Engagement Center in Sterling the Chinese professors met Brian Kailey, Dr. Wilma Trujillo, and J.D. Sexton of the Logan County Extension Office. The agents talked about their roles and the overall mission of the extension service. One point was repeatedly made: the extension service is sensitive to the needs of the community.

"We rely heavily on the local community to tell us what resources we should be bringing into the community," Kailey said. "Whether it's lawn and garden (information), windbreaks, crops, whatever. We are most successful when we are responding to the community's needs."

Trujillo, who serves as agronomist for Logan and Morgan counties, explained that besides assisting ag producers she also is involved in testing products for ag suppliers. She explained that the companies pay the Extension Service for the research that's done. When asked whether she gets paid by the companies she said she does not, "but I guess I do get paid in terms of personal growth and my own professional knowledge."

The group then drove to the sheep farm of Michael and Tammy Meisner north of Sterling, where the Meisners' son, champion 4-H showman and Boettcher Scholar Riley Meisner, talked about his experiences in 4-H and how that has shaped his life so far. He demonstrated for several of the Chinese visitors points a sheep showing judge will look for and gave them hands-on time with one of his animals.

"They already have a massive extension service, with about 6.5 million extension agents, but it's in the Ministry of Agriculture, which is the counterpart to our U.S. Department of Agriculture," he said. "They're in the process of re-structuring and they want to develop a university-based platform for the rapid introduction of new technology into Chinese agriculture."

Swanson said the idea is to build a parallel, university-based extension system and then see how the two blend together. He said the U.S. is the only nation in the world with a university-based extension system.

CSU is working with the University of California system, Oregon State, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Purdue, Texas A&M and Purdue University and with 10 universities in China — Anhui Agricultural University and Sichuan Agricultural University among them — to exchange information.

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